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by EllaBella18
Summary: Four months in a different city. Sounded amazing, little did they know it would be exactly what they needed. Quick, Finchel.
1. Prologue

So here's my latest fic in the Glee fanfiction world. It's going to be Quick and Finchel and its loosely based on the movie The Holiday. This is the prologue, the regular chapters after this will bounce back and forth with Rachel and Quinn.

Mad thanks to Manda and Miranda for plotting endlessly with me (no jokes I've been working on this since November) and to my beta for being pure awesome!

Anyway, I'll stop rambling, I hope you like this, and remember, reviews are love!

-x-

Quinn walked through her twin brother's dark red front door and plopped down onto one of the bar stools he had around the kitchen island. She let out a sigh and ran a hand through her blond locks. It had been a long day and she was just ready for it to be over.

"What happened?" Finn asked from the stove, not even turning around to face her.

"I saw Will today." she announced, leaning forward and stealing one of the grapes from the bowl on the counter.

Finn rolled his eyes from his position at the stainless steel stove. Will was her ex-boyfriend, and things had not ended well between them. It had been six months since she'd seen him, so when they saw each other in the grocery store it kind of threw her through a loop. She'd been browsing through the dairy department looking for the yogurt she loved when she'd seen him and next thing she knew she was abandoning her cart full of groceries and a crying hysterical mess in her car.

"Did he say anything to you?" Finn asked, turning around to face her.

Quinn shook her head and took a shaky breath. "No, he just kind of looked at me wondering where…where…well you know who was, and then I just kind of booked it out of there because every time I think I've dealt with everything that's happened in the past eleven months something like this happens and it hits me right in the face."

She takes a deep breath and fights back the few tears that had gathered in her eyes. Talking about what had happened was always painful for her. She knew that Finn thought she just didn't want to talk about the situation, but in reality she just couldn't yet. It was still so fresh and it still hurt so much to even think about.

They're interrupted by Finn's twin daughters racing into the kitchen, practically killing each other to get to Quinn first.

"Aunt Quinn!" Daisy beamed launching herself into her aunt's arms.

"Hey baby," Quinn smiled and kissed her forehead, then reached for Delilah and did the same. She'd always been devoted to her tiny blond nieces, but when Brittany died two years ago she'd been over every day and was now a constant fixture in their lives. These two four-year-old girls had helped her more than they could ever know. Everything she does, she does it for them.

The twins settled themselves on Quinn's lap and Finn gives her a look.

"I'm just saying, maybe it would be a good idea for you to get away for a while. Heal. And you know it's what Britt would of wanted you to do too if she were still here."

Quinn rolled her eyes and sighed. They'd had this conversation so many times over the past six months Quinn could practically recite it back by heart by now.

"Finn, I can't just leave. What about the girls? What about you? I can't just leave you, especially since-"

"Yes you can," Finn replied cutting her off. "I've got this now. I don't miss her any less, but it's been two years, we're fine. Good even. The girls and I will be okay if you take off for a while. Just humor me and think about it okay?"

Quinn nodded her head and snuggled her nieces a bit closer to her body. Maybe Finn was right. Maybe it would do her good to escape San Diego for a while and just get away.

-x-

Later that evening Quinn walked into her home and flipped on the lights. She checked her messages and flopped down onto her couch, turned on the television to a Grey's Anatomy repeat and pulled her laptop over to log in a few more hours of work before she'd head to bed and call it a night.

She ran a hand through her hair, frustration evident on her face. Her house felt so empty, so quiet, so lonely all by herself, that the quiet was all that she could hear. She longed for someone to come home to, a family of her own. She'd come so close...

She shook her head and shifted her mind over to the conversation she'd had with Finn earlier. She knew that Finn loved her and he was just looking out for what was best for her, but this was the first time she'd even entertained the notion of going away like he'd suggested when everything had happened all those months ago.

On a whim she opened her internet browser and started browsing home exchange websites. It was on an even bigger whim that she listed hers.

She remembered Brittany dragging her to go see a movie back in high school where two girls listed their houses and miraculously all their life problems were solved when they switched houses. She'd just about given up on miracles but there was no harm in trying.

Besides, maybe she shouldn't give up on miracles just yet.

-x-

"I don't understand why you can't stay in a fucking hotel Rachel," Santana groaned as she flopped down onto Rachel's couch.

Rachel rolled her eyes and turned to face her best friend. "Because San, and you should know this, I hate being in hotels. Absolutely hate it. So why would I stay in one for months while I'm away from the city shooting this movie when I can find a perfectly nice place to trade with someone."

Rachel was a Broadway star about to break into her first major movie roll. While she loved playing Funny Girl, the four month hiatus she was taking from the stage was going to be a refreshing stage. All her life she'd wanted to be a Broadway star, but this movie roll, was something new, fresh, and exciting, and she couldn't wait to get started.

"Because you leave in a freaking week and you still haven't found some place that wasn't inhabited by a crazy person or a stalker. As your agent and more importantly your fucking best friend I strongly suggest you find San Diego's best hotel and hole it up there."

Santana and Rachel grew up together in Columbus Ohio. They'd gone to NYU together-Rachel for the performing arts, and Santana for business. After they'd graduated Santana had insisted on managing her best friend and within a week Rachel had her first audition. It was for a small part in an off-Broadway rendition of Guys and Dolls and that had lead to bigger parts until she'd eventually landed the lead in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Santana had been with her through it all and when she'd first shot the idea of doing a movie Rachel had rolled her eyes, but eventually she'd come around to the idea, and then got excited about it.

Rachel rolled her eyes and continued to browse the website. She clicked on the new listings tab and mumbled a few "mmhmms," so Santana would think that she was still listening before she clicked on a house that seemed promising.

It was a small cute little house, but she missed the small and homey feel that she had growing up in Ohio. It was ten minutes away from the studio she needed to be at each day and close to everything else. Rachel didn't see the harm and sending the woman a message to see if she was interested in an exchange for a few months. Okay, four months, but really that's details.

-x-

Quinn was about to just call it a night and head up to bed when her laptop signaled that she had a new email. Figuring it was her boss wanting to move up tomorrow's meeting, she opened her email and quirked an eyebrow when she realized that it was from the home exchange site that she just listed her house on.

She scanned the email and smiled when the woman told her that her house reminded her of home and it was something she desperately missed. Quinn even allowed herself to get excited when the girl told her she had an Upper East Side apartment in New York. She had a job that could be done anywhere, and New York was about as far from San Diego that she really cared to go.

Plus if there was one place in the world she'd always wanted to visit, New York was it. Quinn hit the reply button and responded right away.

_Hello! _

_I'm Quinn. I'm not going to lie, at this point in my life with everything that has gone on your place sounds almost like heaven. When were you planning on coming down here for and about how long would you be interested in exchanging houses? _

_Sincerely,_

_Quinn_

She hit send before she leaned back against the arm of her couch. This is what she needed, time and space to finally heal from everything and she could even take in a play or two in the process. Sometimes her brother hit things right on the nail.

The woman, who introduced herself as Rachel, responded quickly and Quinn felt a smile break out on her face when Rachel said she needed to be away for four months. Her smile got a little bigger when she saw that Rachel was coming next week. There were a lot of loose ends she still had to tie up, but she was pretty sure she could make it happen. She hit reply and sent Rachel one word: _Fantastic._

And she really hoped it would be.

-x-

"What the fuck is your problem?" Santana asked as Rachel let out a loud squeal and clapped her hands together.

"Do you really need to curse so much Santana? Really that sentence would of been just as effective without the-"

"Shut up and tell me what made you squeal like a damned pig." Santana said, cutting Rachel off.

Rachel rolled her eyes and turned to face her best friend. She'd known Santana forever and didn't really know why she still tried to break her of her bad habits.

"You're so crass. Anyway, I have found a place to stay in San Diego." Rachel exclaimed clapping her hands together and grinning at her best friend.

"What, seriously?"

"Indeed. Best thing is she has a job that can be done anywhere so she can pretty much pack up and go whenever! She seems really nice, her name is Quinn."

Santana wrinkled her nose and studied her best friend. "It's going to be so weird not having you two blocks away from me. You've never been more than two blocks away in my entire life."

Rachel sighed. It was the truth and she didn't really know what she was going to do without her best friend by her side constantly. "I know San. But you'll visit right? And its only four months, it'll fly by in no time."

"I guess. I just don't know what I'll do with myself."

Rachel laughed. That was as close to Santana telling her she'd miss her as it was going to get. "I'll miss you too San. And I'm pretty sure you'll find a way to…occupy yourself."

"Touché Rachel Berry, touché."

Rachel smiled and got up to pull her luggage out of her closet. She was more organized than you could imagine so of course she'd need to start packing right away. She could feel herself buzzing with energy and excitement. There was just this feeling of very good things coming out of this exchange, very good things indeed.

-x-


	2. Chapter 1 Rachel

Here's the first chapter, it's a Rachel chapter. Thanks for the reviews last chapter, I loved them! Also thanks to my beta for being amazing! Reviews are love!

* * *

><p>"You'd better call me everyday Rach, I mean it." Santana threatened as she walked the petite brunette to her security gate.<p>

"Don't worry San, I have this under control. I've talked to you every day of my life since we were in daycare together; I'm not going to stop now." Rachel explained, keeping the exasperation out of her voice. She loved her best friend but if she had Santana remind her one more time to call her she was going to lose her mind.

"And I meant it when I said I would check out that Quinn chick. I'll be like a fucking FBI agent, just busting in there when she least expects it."

Rachel rolled her eyes. This was another thing that they'd been going over constantly for the past week. Santana insisted that this "Quinn bitch"(Santana's words, not Rachel's) needed to be checked up on while Rachel insisted that she really didn't. Then Santana would say she doesn't fucking know since they've only ever talked over the computer and then the phone once. It's been a vicious cycle all week. Really, Rachel knows that Santana just loves her and is fiercely protective of her (not that the Latina would admit that, she was seriously bad at expressing emotions), but really she was going to be fine, she was sure of it.

"San, just let it go. Everything will work out fine, I'm telling you."

"Whatever Rach. Just be careful, and I'm flying down to see you as soon as my work schedule clears up a bit."

Rachel smiled and wrapped Santana into a hug. "Really? Hugging?" Santana asked as they pulled apart.

"I'm leaving the city for four months. I believe that hugging is acceptable."

"Whatever. Call me when you land! And I'm telling you, just like the fucking FBI Rach."

Rachel laughed and wheeled her pink luggage over to security. "Oh trust me Santana Lopez, I believe you. Miss you!"

Santana rolled her eyes but Rachel could have sworn she'd heard her say she'd miss her too.

* * *

><p>Her flight was uneventful and she spent most of it listening to her ipod and going over the script of the movie for the millionth time. The entire time that she was on the plane she just felt a bubble of excitement just grow inside of her and it was taking all of her control not to burst out into over-happy song just to calm down.<p>

She was making notes in the margins of her script when the plane starts to land, so she closed it up and slipped it into her purse, her excitement so intense she could almost feel it radiating off of her.

The production company had sent a car to pick her up and she made her way over to the driver, wheeling her pink luggage behind her. They made polite conversation on the journey over to her residence for the next four months, and it took almost everything in her to keep up with the conversation.

The driver offered to help bring in her bags but Rachel shook his hand and thanked him kindly, but she wanted the first time she walked into this house, this absolutely adorable and perfect house, to be all herself, no one there to interrupt or distract her from her new surroundings.

She could tell she's going to love it already as she made her way up the front walk. There were pansies of every color growing on either side of her, and she could see wisteria growing in the back yard. The house was a soft yellow and it just felt homey.

She ran her hands lightly over the silver door handle before taking out the key from the mailbox and opening the door. Rachel smiled as she stepped inside and she hung her sweater over the soft light maple of the banister.

She wandered into the living room and it was the softest blue she's ever seen. She sunk gracefully into the off white sofa and let out a contented sigh. She looked around at the pictures Quinn has scattered around and can tell that family means a lot to her. There was a ton of two little blond girls that are just the sweetest little things and for the first time Rachel wondered what made the blond woman so eager to leave this place.

She wandered through the rest of the house and it was honestly everything she'd been hoping for. Her apartment back home was homey and comfortable, but she'd missed having stairs, and a yard with trees and flowers to look at instead of a balcony with nothing but buildings surrounding her.

She sunk down into the perfectly made up bed in the master bedroom and drifted into the best sleep she's had in years.

* * *

><p>The sun was slowly setting as Rachel set about the kitchen fixing herself something for dinner. After she'd woken up from the most restful sleep she'd had in years, she'd found her way to the grocery store and was in the middle of preparing her favorite vegetarian pasta dish, something she hadn't been able to do in months.<p>

She'd just pulled the pasta off of the stove to drain it when she noticed someone walking around in the backyard. Rachel grabbed the nearest object (which happened to be a wooden spoon) and headed out onto the back deck with it clenched tightly in her palm.

She cleared her throat before talking. "Excuse me, can I help you?"

The man jumped and whipped around to face her. He was tall, really tall (he seriously made her feel totally, well, _tiny_ when he walked over) and he had light hair and the most innocent, sweet smile she'd seen in years.

He rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort. "Sorry, I'm Finn, Quinn's twin brother. She'd made me swear to take care of her flowers while she was gone but I didn't think of knocking on the door and introducing myself first."

Rachel laughed a little bit and smiled at him. "Its fine, I understand. This is your sister's house you are not used to having to explain yourself. I'm Rachel. When you're finished here, I have plenty of pasta if you're hungry."

Finn smiled at her and bent down to pick up the discarded hose. "That sounds great. I'll be inside in about five minutes."

Rachel flashed him another smile. She had a feeling that trading houses with Quinn would work out just beautifully.


	3. Chapter 2 Quinn

Quinn smiled as she woke up after her first night in New York city. Finn and the girls had seen her off at the airport the day before, she'd had a long layover in Colorado and by the time she'd gotten to Rachel's apartment it had been too late for the blond to go out and explore. Instead she found where Rachel kept her delivery menus, ordered chinese and spent the night watching Dirty Dancying in Rachel's king size bed.

It felt so refreshing and calming to be so far away from her ex and everything that had gone on between them. For the first time in a long time, Quinn felt like she could breathe again and it was a feeling that she had missed for so long. It was just so nice to not feel like she was being pulled under constantly with no chance to escape it.

The apartment was warm and done up nicely in rich deep colours. Quinn could honestly say that she adored it. Rachel had done well for herself, and you could see that, but it still had a feeling of home and Quinn thought that it probably took a lot of work to interject the feeling of warmth in this apartment.

She climbed out of bed and made her way into the deep green en-suite bathroom where she climbed into the shower and washed away any of the evidence that she'd been travelling the day before. She had a quick breakfast before heading downstairs where the doorman hailed her a cab. She felt the need to go out and about today and she was just itching to buy herself a few new things.

The air was warm, the sun was shining and all in all it was a perfect day for exploring, it was a perfect day for new beginnings.

* * *

><p>Quinn smiled and thanked the doorman when she stepped into the building after being out shopping all day. She'd gone to most of the major New York stores and had spent way too much money, but the way she figured it, it was time for a change and the first place for that was with new clothes.<p>

She made her way up the elevator and let herself into the apartment, intent on putting away her new purchases right away before she could talk herself into returning them.

She walked through the living room and immediately screamed, dropping her bags in the process. "Oh my God! You're naked! On Rachel's couch!" She exclaimed looking at the dark haired, (extremely) handsome man sprawled out on Rachel's dark red sofa in his birthday suit.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed, giving her the once over. "You are definitely not Santana."

Quinn stammered something before she rushed away into the bedroom. Its when she searched for her cell phone that she realised who the naked man on Rachel's couch is.

It took Rachel two rings before she answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"Rachel can you tell me why there is a buck naked Noah Puckerman on your living room couch?"

Rachel groaned and laughs softly to herself at the same time. "Santana." is all the petite brunette offered as an answer and Quinn tapped her foot with impatience. Who the hell was this Santana chick?

"Who is Santana Rachel? And what does she have to do with anything?"

"Santana is my best friend, and one of Noah's, we'll say, special friends. She probably told him she'd be at my place and to just come on over to mess with your head a little bit. She's doing it because she has it in her mind that she needs to check you out. You'll get used to her."

"So what do I do. Let me repeat, there is a naked Noah Puckerman on your living room couch. Noah Puckerman the former teen sensation before he retired from recording to become a big time record exec."

Rachel laughed again. "Just go in there and tell him that there's been a mix up. He's a pretty good guy, we dated for about a year or so before we realised we were heading different directions in life."

"You're best friend is sleeping with your ex?"

"Its not a big deal. Noah and I are over. And they're nothing serious. Anyway, I've got to run I have to be on set in an hour."

The two girls hung up the phone and Quinn nervously smoothed her hands across the soft yellow of her sundress before making her way back into the living room. He was still there but he had thankfully (or maybe not, she hadn't made up her mind), put his boxers back on. He grinned at her as she made her way back into the living room and stood up to talk to her.

"I'm really sorry about what just happened there. Santana sent me a text earlier saying she was house sitting for Rachel and to come on over after work and she'd meet me here. I had no idea that Rachel ended up subletting."

Quinn blushed as she looked him in the eyes. Noah Puckerman made her very nervous, and that was something that hadn't happened in a long time.

"Its okay. I just got off the phone with Rachel actually. She said that Santana would of set you up for this. I'm Quinn. I'll be staying here while Rachel is in San Diego filming."

"I'm Puck." He held his hand out for her to shake and she flashed him a shy smile before turning around and making her way into the kitchen.

"If you put the rest of your clothes back on I'll let you stay for dinner."

* * *

><p>Quinn ended up ordering pizza for the two of them for dinner. Puck had run upstairs to his apartment to grab them some beers and they'd settled around the table to eat.<p>

He was attractive, there was no denying that. She remembered back when she was in high school, her and all the other girls on the cheerleading squad had had the biggest crush on him. Noah Puckerman, he'd taken the world by storm, and then just a few years into her college education at Brown, he'd taken the world by storm once again, this time to retire from the music business, for good. He'd ended up getting a job as the talent scout for an up and coming record label, and now he'd put more people on the billboard charts than any of the other record companies combined.

"So how long is Rachel subletting to you?" He asked her, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Quinn blushed slightly and looked at him. He made her nervous, in the best way possible, and Quinn couldn't (okay, that's a lie, she didn't want to) remember the last time that had happened. "I'm not subletting actually. We did a house exchange. She's staying at my house in San Diego while she shoots her movie and I'm staying here."

Puck raised an eyebrow at her. "What about your job?"

"I edit children's books. I can do it pretty much anywhere as long as there's a fax machine and an internet connection."

Puck nodded his head. "What's that like? Editing books for kids?"

Quinn smiled softly. "I love it. I always read anything that gets sent to me to my nieces and if they love it I'll edit it. If they hate it I usually pass it on to someone else. And since I've started doing this, the books we've put out have been doing pretty well."

"Nieces?"

"Yeah, Daisy and Delilah. They're twins and they're four. They're my world." A brief look of sadness flashed across her face and Puck made a mental note to ask more about it later.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Quinn shrugged her shoulders. "What do you say I take you out to see the sights tomorrow. New York is more fun when you've got a badass like me showing you around."

Quinn laughed and smiled at Puck. "That sounds fantastic."

"Awesome. I'll pick you up at two."

"That sounds-"

She's cut off by the door opening and a tiny Latina girl comes strutting into the dining room. "You're still here?" She asked Puck giving him a look of confusion.

Puck rolled his eyes at her. "Real fucking mature San. But thanks, I really like her. Anyway, I gotta go, I'll pick you up at two tomorrow?" He asked turning his attention to Quinn. Quinn nodded her head and Puck made his way to the hall.

She heard the faint sound of the door closing and Quinn turned to face Santana, a different kind of nervous settling into her body. She couldn't explain it, but this tiny Spanish girl scared her. A lot.

"So you're Quinn, huh?" Santana asked crossing her arms across her chest, clearly already bored with the situation.

"I am. And who the hell are you?"

"Feisty. I like it. I think we'll get along just fine. And Puck does certainly seem to like you. Did he even try to sleep with you?" Quinn shook her head and Santana laughed humourlessly. "He likes you a lot then. He only ever tries anything with girls right away who he knows he won't be bringing home to meet his mother."

"I can promise you that-"

"Save it, its not a big deal. We fuck. Nothing else. If he likes you its a good thing. He treats his girlfriends like gold. I know, he dated Rachel for a year. Anyway, don't try anything here. I'll be checking in."

"Did Rachel put you up to this or something?"

"Nope. She tried to talk me out of it. But I have a key, so I'll be around."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. Its a promise. But you'll get used to me. Everyone does. Anyway, I'm out. But I'll be back."

* * *

><p><em>So here's the latest chapter, mad thanks to my beta for being awesome. Also I got a Tumblr and I may post little sneak peeks on there from time-to-time so I'll post a link to it on my profile. Anyway, enough rambling. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember, reviews are love!<em>


	4. Chapter 3 Rachel

Rachel shook her head as she hung up the phone. It was so typical of Santana to send Puck over to her apartment naked just to prove a point. Sometimes Rachel just didn't know what to do with her best friend. She contemplated calling Santana to bitch her out, but she had a feeling that Quinn could handle herself just fine.

Instead she found her sunglasses and made her way onto the front porch with a glass of iced tea. It was a beautiful day and she was grateful that she wasn't spending it locked away on set, that she didn't start until tomorrow.

She flipped through and old issue of Cosmo when she saw Finn come up the front walk. She set the magazine aside and beamed at him as he plopped himself into the wicker chair next to her. Last night they'd talked, and talked, and talked some more, and Rachel could honestly say that she really, really liked him.

"Hey," he smiled in greeting to her, a lopsided grin etched onto his face. Rachel didn't understand how someone so…so…giant like could be so endearing and goofy at the same time. And handsome, my God was he handsome.

"Hello Finn, how are you today?" Rachel asked, sending him a smile in return. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Nah, I'm good. And its really weird to be offered something to drink at my sister's house. I usually just get it."

Rachel laughed and his smile grew. "So anyway, I was wondering since you fed me yesterday if maybe I could return the favour tonight"

Rachel felt her stomach flutter and it threw her off for a moment. She quickly ignored it. "That would be lovely. What time should I come over? And do you want me to bring anything?"

"Nope," Finn replied, popping the p. "Just yourself. And is five okay?"

"That's actually perfect."

Finn got up off of the wicker chair and made his way down the porch steps. He turned around to wave and smile at her and Rachel felt herself blush.

She was blushing? She really didn't know what was wrong with her.

* * *

><p>An hour later she walked up Finn's front porch steps. The house was a cheerful blue colour and the grass was neatly trimmed. There were a few hanging baskets of brightly coloured flowers that Rachel suspected were Quinn's touch. The screen door was the only door closed on the house and Rachel could sort of see inside. She rang the bell and a tiny girl, about four, came barreling to the door to see who it is.<p>

"Who are you?" She demanded, placing her hands on her hips as Rachel choked back a laugh.

"I'm Rachel, is-" she was cut off by Finn coming to the door and scooping up the blond girl, tossing her over his shoulder so the girl giggled and screeched with delight.

"Come in. This is Daisy, one of my daughters." Finn explained, setting Daisy back onto the floor. Daisy smiled at her before she dashed down the hall and disappeared out of sight. Rachel stepped into the bright yellow hall and slipped her shoes off.

"Your daughters?" Rachel asked, following Finn to the kitchen and taking a seat at the island.

"Mmhmm, I have two. Daisy and Delilah. They're four year old twins." Finn replied, another lopsided grin gracing his handsome face.

Rachel felt her world stop. Figures the one man she's been interested in in a long time has children when they're the furthest thing from her mind at the moment. She noticed that Finn was saying something so she forced herself to pay attention to him.

"…they're really great. Anyway, dinner is almost ready."

"Can I help you with anything?" She asked shoving everything away and plastering a grin onto her face.

"Nah, I got this. Dinner will be ready in a few."

"Sounds great," Rachel replied as she studied light green kitchen. The stainless steel fridge was plastered with drawings and paintings that his daughters had obviously done. A calendar with a million and two things written down on it hung on the wall by the fridge, right above where the phone was resting neatly on its hook. She strongly suspected, that once again, Quinn had a lot to do with the organisation of this place.

"So how often do you have your daughters with you?" Rachel asked.

Finn cleared his throat and looked up from the cucumber he was cutting up. "Full time, my wife is actually…well she died two years ago. Drunk driver hit her one night on her way home from her mom's with the girls. She died on impact, the girls didn't have a scratch on them though. Thank God, I think I might have totally lost it if it weren't for them."

Rachel's head reeled as she processes this new information. She swallowed before placing a hand on Finn's arm. "I'm so sorry Finn. I didn't mean…I didn't mean to bring it up."

"Its okay. You didn't know. How could you know right?"

Rachel nodded her head and focused on the spice rack directly across from her.

"Daisy, Delilah! Dinner!" Finn called, making his way over to the table and setting the salad down. A minute later two little balls of energy came barreling into the kitchen and right into Finn's legs.

"Who's that daddy?" Delilah, or who Rachel assumed was Delilah asked.

"That is Rachel. Rachel this is Delilah."

"I told you that!" Daisy exclaimed scowling at her sister.

Delilah rolled her eyes. "I know! I was just checking!

Rachel smiled at her. "Its very nice to meet you."

"Its very nice to meet you too. I'm four and daddy always says I talk way too much."

Rachel laughed softly as Finn steered his girls into their seats. "There's nothing wrong with that I don't think."

"Me too," Delilah said nodding her head.

Finn shook his head and gestured to Rachel that she should take a seat. He took some chicken out of the oven and arranged it onto a plate, grabbed a bowl of mashed potatoes and made his way back to the table to join them.

Dinner passed by uneventfully, the twins chattering on constantly about their day at day care. Rachel found them really quite adorable, but she had a sinking feeling every time she met Finn's eyes from across the table. This was not going to end well, she could just feel it.

The girls helped clear the table before they went running off to play again, and Rachel and Finn quietly did the dishes together before the twins came running back into the kitchen.

"Daddy!" Daisy exclaimed, climbing onto the counter and plopping herself down next to the sink. "We want dessert."

Finn grinned at his daughter and ruffled her hair which made Daisy huff in annoyance. "You're going to have to wait, you two should go play for a bit more, I won't let you miss dessert I promise."

Daisy nodded her head and climbed off the counter before dashing out of the kitchen once again. "Delilah let's go!" She called over her shoulder, annoyance evident in her voice.

Rachel laughed softly to herself as Delilah responded. "I'm coming gimme a minute!" She huffed turning towards her dad and Rachel. "Dessert is really, really good. Its some kind of pie and daddy got it from the store but I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

Finn groaned. "Go play with your sister." Delilah laughed as she ran off and Rachel smiled at Finn as she leaned against the counter.

"I'm sorry, they're a handful."

"They're adorable." Finn smiled a big smile at her and Rachel felt herself blush.

"So uh…I was wondering if maybe you wanted to grab dinner with me this weekend? I have a sitter and she's always really good at watching the girls when I need her to."

Rachel felt like her heart had stopped beating. This is exactly what she had been dreading. She'd thought that maybe she could keep Finn steered in the friends zone, even though she really didn't want to be there in the first place, but it was safer that way. She didn't want a family, and there was no way she was going to just set herself into this already made one.

"I…uh…I can't Finn, I'm really sorry."

"Oh. Okay, I uh, understand." He replied, scratching the back of his neck. Rachel felt guilt wash over her body at the look on his face. He honestly looked like she'd just kicked his dog repeatedly and it made her feel positively awful. She liked him. A lot. But there was no way she was in anyway ready to settle down and be a family person. She wasn't.

"I should probably go. I have an early day on set tomorrow and I'd hate to not be rested for it." She lied feebly, trying desperately to get herself out of the awkwardness that had settled around them.

"Right yeah. Wouldn't want that. I'll uh…I'll walk you to the door."

"Okay great." Rachel forced herself to smile as they made their way down the hall. She said goodbye to the girls as she slipped on her shoes and stepped out onto the porch as Finn held the door open for her.

"Right, so I guess I'll see you around then?" Finn asked.

Rachel nodded her head and let out and uncomfortable laugh. "You know where I live."

"Right yea. See you later."

"Bye."

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><p>Rachel had a hard time sleeping that night. The guilt that she was feeling over turning Finn down was just tearing her up inside. She couldn't forget the hurt look on his face, or the way that it made her feel to see it.<p>

She thought that she'd for sure done something wrong in a past life. The first guy that she's been interested in in a long time and he's got a family. Karma really was a bitch. But when Rachel thought about it, the girls were so sweet and adorable and smart that maybe being around them wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. And she's only going to be around for four months. Its not like she's going to get tied down to anything and Finn has to know that too right?

At about five thirty in the morning she gave up on sleep and climbed out of bed. She made herself breakfast and took a long bath to try and ease her racing mind. Finally she decided it was late enough to call Santana so she picked up her cell phone and dialed.

"Well, well, well. It can't possibly be my best friend who promised to call me back last night and then didn't could it?" Santana teased as she answered her phone.

"That's because I talked to Quinn after I talked to you. Someone forgot to tell me they sent a former teen sensation over to my apartment. Naked."

Santana laughed at the memory and Rachel rolled her eyes. "I wasn't kidding when I said that I was going to check this bitch out. Although apparently Puck likes her likes her so we'll see how this turns out."

"Whatever San. Anyway, where are you?"

"In my office where the fuck else would I be? Sometimes you ask me the dumbest fucking shit I swear Rach."

Rachel rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. "What's your issue?" Santana asked.

"Finn asked me out." Rachel states straight to the point.

"Who's Finn? Oh is it Quinn's hot brother or whatever?"

"Yes."

"So? Go out with him. Get laid. Its been what? Eight months?" Rachel could hear Santana typing in the back ground and it took everything in her not to openly scoff at her best friend.

"He has daughters San. Two four year old twin daughters to be exact."

"So what? He can't find a sitter so they have to tag along? Whatever wait until they're in bed then do the fucking horizontal tango."

"You're as eloquent as ever San. But no, do you not remember why Noah and I broke up?"

"You're like the only fucking person in the world who calls him Noah Rach. And yeah, he wanted to settle down and you did not. This is fucking ancient history why are we bringing it up."

Rachel sat down at the kitchen table and sank her head into her hands, balancing the phone on her shoulder. "Are you even listening to me right now? He has children. Why would I knowingly get myself involved with someone who has children when I decided a long time ago that wasn't happening until I was at least 30?"

"Jesus Christ Rachel. You like him don't you and that's the issue?"

Rachel mumbled her response and Santana kept going. "Then fucking go out with him. You're there for four months, have some fucking fun there. No one said you had to marry the guy and have more babies. Go on dates, and then return home and have him fuck your brains out. Then you'll come back to the city fucking relaxed and you can carry on your with merry single, childless life."

Rachel laughed a little bit at Santana. She was right. Nobody ever said that her and Finn had to have a huge love affair. And she liked him. A lot.

And it really had been a long time. "You're right San. I'll go over there later today and see what I can do."

"That's my girl! And remember, have him fuck your brains out, then fill me in."

"Will do. I've got to go, they're sending a car to pick me up for my first day and it should be here any minute."

"Alright. Call me and let me know when your date is. And if there's no date and it ends up just being sex call me and let me know anyway. I fucking need to hear about this."

"You're way too nosy."

"I'm way too fucking awesome. Anyway, go. I have to go meet some new potential client for the agency."

"Bye San."

"Bye Rach."

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><p><em>I'm sorry in the delay uploading this. Life has been extreamly busy, but things are starting to die down. I'd really appreciate it if you could let me know what you think so far, because while this fic seems to be getting put onto alert lists, I'd also love some reviews. I don't want it to seem like I'm begging, but reviews are like oxygen for a writer, we need them. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, we're back to Quinn next. Thanks for reading! <em>


	5. Chapter 4 Quinn

Quinn woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed, and happier than she had been in a long time. She had a light breakfast and decided to work on one of the children's stories she'd agreed to pick up before she has to get ready for sight-seeing with Puck. She refused to call it a date, she's just making friends and that's it. She is absolutely not looking to get her heart broken into a million pieces again. And heartbreak is inevitable when you knew you were only there for a set amount of time. So no, this was most certainly not a date.

That thought did not stop her from spending a bit longer than she normally did getting ready. But the smile Puck gave her when she opened the door? Totally worth it.

"You look amazing." He said, taking in her bright pink sundress and white flip flops. Her hair was down and loosely curled. Simply put, she looked stunning.

She smiled up at Puck. "Thank you. You look pretty good with clothes on yourself."

Puck gave an appreciative laugh and lead her down the hall to the elevator that Rachel and the one other apartment on her floor shared. "So where are you taking me Mr. Puckerman?" Quinn asked, laughing slightly as he lead her out the door and into the hot early August sunshine.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He questioned, holding open the door to a cab for her. She slid in and he slid in beside her, shutting the door. He told the cab driver an address and off they go, cutting in and out of different lanes.

Their conversation flowed easily and Quinn was struck by how much more handsome he was than she remembers. She loves how close shaven his head is, and the way his eyes crinkle up as he laughs. He looked, strong, powerful, and she felt herself trusting him easily. He just seemed like someone who could take care of her. And even though she was not admitting it, he's someone she'd like to take care of as well.

He showed her the Empire State building and the statue of Liberty. He pointed out Trump Towers and he took her to Madison Square Gardens. At the end of the day they ended up in Central Park. She was honestly amazed by it, this much peaceful nature right in the middle of a non-stop city.

They walked quietly around the park for a bit and she felt herself blush slightly as he slipped his hand into hers. She spotted the zoo in the park and it was like she was eight years old again.

"I want to go to the zoo!" she exclaimed, tugging slightly on his hand.

Puck laughed and pulled her back to his side. "Okay, your wish is my command."

Quinn smiled softly at him before leading them over. He wouldn't let her pay her entrance fee and the two spent a bit of time wandering around admiring the animals.

"I think I could love this place," Quinn sighed looking up at the sky later on as they sat beneath a shaded tree eating ice cream.

Puck laughed. "New York is pretty amazing." Quinn nodded her head in agreement and they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

"Did you grow up here?" Quinn asked turning her attention from the heavens over to him. He shook his head.

"Nope. I actually grew up in this little town in Ohio called Lima. My mom and sister are still there but they come up to see me every once and a while. What about you?"

"Born and raised in San Diego. My mom and twin brother are there, along with my nieces. Besides family vacations to, like, San Francisco and LA, San Diego is the only place I've ever really known. I've never even seen snow."

"Don't worry about that. You're here until when? New Years Eve?" Puck asked Quinn, who nodded. "You'll see plenty of snow. I promise ya."

"Good."

"So tell me about what brought you here, miles and miles away from home."

"Oh you know, your typical cliche. Girl meets boy. Girl falls in love with boy. Girl gets her heart broken by said boy and then girl runs away to NYC." she explained giving a sad hollow laugh at the end of the shortened version of her life events over the past two years.

"What happened between you two?"

"I…I don't want to get into it right now. I'm trying to forget about it and live again and I just can't."

Puck nodded his head and silence settled over the two of them. It was not an uncomfortable silence by any means.

"So you and Rachel?" Quinn asked and Puck turned to face her again.

"Yeah. That was like two years ago though. We both want different things out of life. So we split."

"Right, there's no point in staying in a relationship when you know you're not heading in the same direction."

"Fucking right. I was ready, am ready to kinda settle down. She wasn't. I'm not sure if she ever will. Its hard to do the family shit when you're a broadway star doing eight shows a week."

"I believe there's someone out there for everyone. You just got to find them."

"You looking?" Quinn shook her head no. She'd been through enough, she was done looking. "Then you'll find them. That's how it always fucking works out."

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><p>They had dinner after they were done in Central Park and they took a cab back to their building. He walked her up to her apartment and it was honestly the most fun she'd had in a long, long time.<p>

"I had a great time today Puck," she told him, taking a break from digging for her key and looking him in the eye.

"Me too." He flashed her a grin that made her melt a little and she knew that at that point if she wasn't careful she could end up falling for him. Hard.

They were standing close together and Quinn felt her breath pick up when she noticed just how close together they were. "We should do this again." she whispered and she swore she was imagining things when he licked his lips.

"Tomorrow. Come upstairs to my place, I'll cook."

"You cook?" She asked and he nodded his head.

"Fuck yeah baby, I do." Quinn laughed softly and she didn't notice him close the gap between them and kiss her. She was shocked at first but after a moment she sort of melted into it, slipping her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, and she honestly felt like time slowed down and sped up at the same time.

"Wow." She whispered when they pulled apart. She immediately blushed because she hadn't meant to say it out loud.

"So tomorrow then?" He asked her, a grin etched onto his face.

She felt like she'd lost the ability to speak so she nodded her head and slipped her key into the lock. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow. Five o'clock. I'm on the floor above, apartment 8."

And with that he turned around and headed back towards the elevator and she slipped inside the apartment. She softly shut the door behind her and slid down to the floor once she was inside, a smile gracing her face. For a non-date it was pretty freaking amazing. She could only imagine what a real date would be like.

The practical side of her knew she would be leaving in four months, but the other side of her, the impractical part, didn't care. That was the first time in a long, long time that she felt like that, almost like a giggly school girl, that she couldn't bring herself to care. And the fact that this didn't scare her? Didn't bother her in the least.

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><p><em>Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter!<em>


	6. Chapter 5 Rachel

Sorry for the delay! I've actually had this chapter back for a while, I've just been internetless for like ever so I'm sorry about that! Thanks for all your reviews on the last chapter, I really loved and appreciated them all. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and remember reviews are loved!

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><p>Rachel decides to stop by Finn's after her first day of shooting. Its not a very big scene, and she's not in it for long, so she's out of their fairly early. She stops at home to wash the makeup off and the hair product out of her hair and she makes her way over to his place in jeans and a dark blue t-shirt.<p>

She's nervous. She's not an unreasonable person, at least she doesn't think so, but she's never really liked apologizing. Plus it doesn't help that she likes Finn.

Daisy answers the door and the little girl grins at her and swings the door open. "Daddy is outside. Come on, I'll bring you to him." Daisy says grabbing Rachel's hand and leading her out back.

"Daddy!" Daisy shouts as soon as they're outside.

"What's up Daisy?" Finn asks hunched over the lawnmower.

"Rachel is here!" Finn shoots up from his position and spins around to face them.

"Hey," Rachel says smiling shyly.

"Hey. Daisy why don't you go find Delilah and you two can get ready to go into the pool okay?"

Daisy's face breaks out into a huge grin before she shouts out a "yes!" and dashes back into the house.

"So what can I help you with?" Finn asked crossing his arms across his chest.

Rachel tucked some stray hair behind her ear and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I just…I'm sorry about yesterday Finn. Its been a long time since I've been out with someone, and I think when you asked me I just panicked. So I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Finn nods his head and Rachel notes that he's not making this easy for her. She doesn't blame him of course, she did kind of shoot him down pretty quickly. She knows that it probably wasn't easy for him to ask her out in the first place.

"So I was wondering, can you still get that sitter for Saturday?"

Finn's face breaks out into a big smile and he strides across the lawn towards her. "Sure can. Like I said before, she's pretty good at being able to sit for me."

A smile breaks out on Rachel's face and she's really glad that she came back over here. "I can't wait."

"Good. I'll pick you up at seven?"

"That sounds wonderful. I have to go though, I don't want to, but I have a meeting with my publicist and she flew down here to see me especially for this so I'd hate to keep her waiting."

"No problem. I'll see you Saturday."

"I can't wait. I'll see you then."

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><p>It seems to take Saturday forever to roll around. She knows its because she's anticipating it but she just can't wait for seven o'clock to get there.<p>

She's not sure where he's taking her, he's refused to tell her. She thinks its cute that he's planning a surprise and that kind of surprises her. Normally she's the type of person who has every single detail planned and not knowing something was enough to send her on a warpath until she did know it. But for some reason, Finn made her feel things and do things that no one had been able to do before.

She's ready by six thirty and she attempts to go over some notes from her director about the scenes they shot today but she can't focus. There's this ball of energy, excitement, and nerves just growing in her body and she can't control it or make it stop. She almost thinks she's going crazy when pacing is the only thing she can seem to focus on. He knocks on the door just as Santana sends her a text wishing her luck and to get "fucking laid tonight." and she's laughing when she opens the door.

Finn is standing there in dark jeans and a dark grey button down shirt and he's shuffling his feet from side to side. He smiles at her and Rachel feels that little bundle of…whatever in her body go into overdrive.

"You look…amazing," he says taking in her navy blue halter dress and silver flats. She blushes a bit, and then she blushes a bit more when she realizes she's blushing in the first place.

"Thank you. You look fantastic as well," she replies grabbing her silver clutch and heading outside with him.

He gently leads her down the front walk and opens the door of his black _for her. He goes around the front of the car and slides in beside her.

"So where are we going?" Rachel asks as Finn pulls the car out onto the street.

Finn laughed and faced her for a moment before focusing back on the road. "I told you, its a surprise."

He laughed when he noticed her pouting a bit in the passenger's seat. "You'll love it, I promise." he reassures her and she feels a smile breaking out on her face.

"I can't even have a hint?"

Finn laughed. "Nope, don't worry it won't be much longer."

"Fine," Rachel huffed which made Finn laugh harder. He pulled into a parking lot and Rachel raised her eyebrows. "The beach?" she asked. She loved the beach and it wasn't often that she got the chance to go.

"Yes, I hope its okay. I packed some food and I figured we could eat, go for a walk." Finn explained suddenly looking nervous.

"This is wonderful. I've loved the beach since I was a little girl. I hardly ever get to go anymore unless Santana convinces me to spend a weekend in the Hampton's with her during the summer from time to time."

Finn smiled at her and she felt her heart melt a little bit. They climbed out of the car and Finn went into his trunk to pull out a picnic basket. They started to cross towards the beach and Rachel slipped off her flats and he slid his hand into her's. She didn't even try to fight the shiver that runs through her body from the contact.

Their conversation through dinner flows easily. They both talk about growing up and Rachel can tell that he's a man that's devoted to his family. He's obviously super close to Quinn and his mom and when he talks about his girls his entire face lights up. Rachel can't decide if this scares her or makes her like him more. She thinks its the latter if she's being completely honest.

She tells him about growing up in Columbus with Santana where they'd been friends since the first day of daycare. He laughs as she tells him about the time that Santana convinced her to try out of the cheerleading time with her and she'd been so nervous she had stage fright for the first and only time in her life. Needless to say she didn't make the team, but they both realized it was for the best.

They finish eating as the sun is setting and Finn helps her up. They walk along the shore, her hand fitting easily in his. Every once and a while she bends down to pick up a shell or piece of beach glass. Its a perfect evening and she's really glad that she decided to change her mind and spend it with him.

They're watching the waves crash around when he gently pulls her to him. And when he bends his head towards her's she leans up to meet him in what is honestly the best kiss she's had in years.

Its later when they're a mess of tangled limbs in his bed and her head is on his chest as he's sleeping that Rachel realizes she could fall for him.

And she's honestly not sure whether that scares her or delights her.


	7. Chapter 6 Quinn

Thanks so much for your reviews on the last chapter! Without further ado, here's the next. I hope you like it and remember, reviews are love!

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><p>The city's heat was beginning to become unbearable and Quinn longed to be back inside in the cool air of the air conditioned apartment, but she continued down the sidewalk on her way into the bakery down the street anyway.<p>

September had rolled around before she'd even had time to blink and she'd been happier in her one month here than she'd been over the past year and a half at home. She felt like she'd been continually smiling and she was pretty sure that Puck played a huge role in that. There was this nagging part of her brain that was telling her that it was only temporary, and sooner rather than later she was going to have to go home to her life in San Diego but she was really good at shutting that voice up when she was laying content in Puck's arms late at night, or even when they were in a cab together on their way home from the movies or dinner uptown.

She stepped into the tiny bakery and was thankful for the cool air and the sweet smells that immediately came over her senses. She waited patiently for her turn. She was heading up to Puck's, and he was going to cook dinner (turns out he's a pretty amazing cook) and she wanted to bring something along for dessert since he was definitely not a baker. Earlier in the week Puck had mentioned how he loved the red velvet cupcakes they sold at this particular bakery when they'd been walking to a pizza place just around the corner. She bought half a dozen of them and grabbed the box of cupcakes before making her way back out into the scorching September afternoon.

Quinn smiled at the doorman as he opened the door for her and she just walked to the elevator and got out on Puck's floor. The door was unlocked so she slipped inside, hearing the sound of him singing along to the radio in his kitchen. She slipped her flip-flops off of her feet and padded her way through the dark navy blue of his living room and into the spacious charcoal grey and granite kitchen. He was standing at the stove stirring a pot of pasta sauce and his entire kitchen just smelt amazing. She set the box of cupcakes onto his kitchen island and slipped up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and standing up on her tip-toes to peek over his shoulder into the pots on the stove.

"Hey baby," he smiled, turning around and giving her a quick kiss.

She felt her heart beat a little faster at the feeling of his body against hers. They broke apart and she smiled at him before he went back to the stove to make sure he didn't burn their food.

"I'm sorry I'm a bit late, I stopped and picked up dessert." She explained, settling down onto a barstool and pulling a cutting board with a whole cucumber and tomato on it towards her. "For a salad?" she continued, gesturing down to the produce in front of her.

"You don't have to I got it. And what'd ya bring?"

"Its a surprise. And I want to. What are you making? It smells amazing."

"Its a surprise." Puck replied, turning around to give her an irresistible smirk.

She rolled her eyes at him in an over-exaggerated way and he laughed before turning his attention back to the stove as she went about making a salad. As she moved about the kitchen getting everything else she needed, she marvelled at how domestic they were after a month. She loved it, and she was pretty sure that he did too.

Twenty minutes later she was pouring wine into the glasses he set out on his kitchen table and he was setting out plates of penne with blush sauce and chicken parma.

"This was so worth being a surprise," she told him after the first bite of pasta.

Puck smirked at her and swallowed the bit of chicken Parmesan he has in his mouth. "I know how much you love Italian food."

She laughed and they talked about anything and everything over dinner. Everything was so comfortable with Puck, and she never felt like she had to force anything with him. She couldn't remember the last time that happened with anyone outside of her family.

He came up behind her as she was doing the dishes and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned back into him as he moved her hair over to the side and started pressing light kisses to her neck.

"Leave it for later?" He whispered softly into her ear, sending shivers up and down her spine. She gently shut off the water and turned around to face him.

"What about dessert?"

"You are my dessert babe. Whatever is in that box can wait until I've had you."

Quinn blushed and leaned up to kiss him before she broke away and made her way out of the kitchen. He followed her and later when they were eating the cupcakes in bed and he had his arm around her cuddled against his side, she realized that this was the happiest she's ever been.

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><p>"Q! Let's go we're going to be late for the movie!" Puck called, walking into her (well Rachel's really) apartment.<p>

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Quinn called back, rushing into the hallway while trying to slip her black flat onto her other foot. Puck caught her arms as she stumbled and he smiled at her as she slipped the shoe onto her foot and straightened out her dark red sundress. "Hi," she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"Hey," he grinned slipping his arm around her shoulders as they walked out the door. She locked the door and they made their way down the elevator and out into the cooling September evening.

"I still think we should go see the new (insert big action star name here) tonight." Puck said as they weaved their way around other pedestrians on their way to the closest movie theatre.

Quinn scrunched her nose up and shook her head. "There is no way I'm seeing that. I think we should go see that new Reese Witherspoon movie with what's-his-face. They look seriously adorable together in the promos."

Puck laughed and shook his head at her. "Fuck no I am not sitting through another chick flick. Do I need to remind you that you made me watch the Notebook last night? That's enough for a week."

Quinn laughed at the look on Puck's face. "Need I remind you that you were also well…rewarded for watching the Notebook with me?"

He shook his head no and leaned his head closer to hers. "I don't care how well I was 'rewarded', there's no fucking way I'm watching a chick flick two nights in a row."

Quinn rolled her eyes and lightly pushed his chest and he caught her hand in his free one. "Compromise?" She asked.

"What?"

"The new Owen Wilson and Drew Barrymore?"

"That's a fucking deal. That movie looks hilarious!" Quinn laughed and shook her head and he caught her face and kissed her quickly. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't notice the person walking in front of them.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Quinn exclaimed as they practically knocked the man over.

The man straightened out his dark grey suit and turned around to face them.

"Its fi-Puckerman?"

"Oh sorry Mike, I didn't realize it was you."

"It's no problem, I was walking kind of slow anyway."

"Q, this is the guy who works with me on recruiting new acts, Mike. Mike, this is my girlfriend Quinn."

"Its a pleasure to meet you Quinn," Mike smiled sticking his hand out for Quinn to shake.

Quinn shook his hand and smiled at him, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well."

Puck looked down at his watch and cursed. Quinn rolled her eyes and Mike laughed. "Fuck, we gotta go or we're going to miss our movie. I'll see you tomorrow man."

"See you Puckerman. It was nice to meet you, Quinn." Mike smiled at her before crossing the street.

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><p>Later on that evening, they're laying in bed together. Quinn's head is on his chest and she's tracing lazy patterns across his skin. Their legs are a tangled mess beneath the sheets and she can't remember a time where she felt this comfortable, this safe with someone in her life.<p>

Quinn suddenly sat up in bed, suddenly remembering their encounter from earlier and Puck shot her a quizzical look.

"What's up babe?" he asked pulling her back against him.

Quinn let out a content sigh and settled herself against him once again before she answered. "So I'm your girlfriend huh?" she asked a smile gracing her face.

"Fuck yes you are. What did you think you were?"

"I wasn't sure actually."

Puck laughed a little bit and shook his head. "Well be sure now babe. You're my girl and I'll tell the whole fucking world if you want me to."

Quinn's smile grew and she placed gentle kisses along his neck and jaw. "I'm really really glad we defined this."

"Me too, babe, me too." Puck agreed, an easy silence settling over the two. This was already so different from the last time she'd been someone's girlfriend.

As she mused on their new relationship status, worry that she'd been shoving aside began to knaw its way back to the forefront of her mind, worries and thoughts that she had done so well of repressing.

"Puck?"

"Yeah Q?"

"What happens when I go home?" She asked the fear very real and very panicking to her.

"I'll probably be taking more trips out to California than I usually do. Don't worry about it Quinn, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. Usually when people told her things like that she still worried about it. But with Puck, she just felt like her going home wouldn't really change them. Not in the slightest.


	8. Chapter 7 Rachel

The early October sun seeped in through the closed curtains and Rachel yawned as she gently eased her body away from Finn's, gently padding her way into the shower. The past month had passed by in a blissful haze and she was honestly happier than she could ever remember being—even on stage.

Finn rolled over in his sleep and Rachel smiled as she shrugged on her robe and made her way into the en-suite bathroom. The girls had spent the night at their grandmother's, but she still felt the need to cover up; she had never been one for parading around almost naked. The warm water from the shower head soothed her body and she sighed a little as she wrapped herself into a plush red towel and set about brushing her teeth and blow drying her hair. She had a nine AM on call time so she applied minimal makeup to make the makeup artist's job a little bit easier and slipped on a bright yellow sundress. Back home in New York it was starting to get too cold for her to wear sundresses, but she loved the fact that it was still warm out in San Diego.

Finn was starting to wake up when she made her way back into his bedroom and leant over him to give him a soft kiss. He snagged her around the waist and pulled her back to him. "Did I wake you up? I was trying to be quiet, I have to be on set for nine today," she explained against his lips.

"No, bed got cold without you. Play hooky with me today," Finn told her pouting a little bit.

"As tempting as that sounds, and trust me it's really, really tempting, I can't. We're shooting a scene today that we only have today for so I have to be there. But on the bright side it's a scene that really can't be shot in the dark so keep your fingers crossed but I think I may be back in time for dinner with you and the girls."

"Fine, leave me all by myself, I see how it is."

Rachel laughed and brushed her lips against his again. "I wish I had an understudy for this movie. Unfortunately I have to be there," Rachel laughed softly standing up. "But I won't be late I promise. Want to take the girls out for dinner?"

"Sounds good Rach, I'll see you tonight."

"Bye Finn!" Rachel bent over to kiss him one more time before she slipped out of the room and down the stairs into Quinn's car - the one that she'd been driving for the past few weeks. In New York she rarely got the chance to drive, she was usually in taxis or on the subway - or when she had events, a town car - and she loved driving, she missed it. It was time that she missed having to herself and she made the resolve to start driving her own car when she could when she got back to New York.

While her day on set was short, it was an emotionally and psychically draining scene and she was honestly exhausted by the time she climbed back into Quinn's car later that afternoon. She said goodbye to the security guard at the front gate and made the short drive back to Quinn's to grab a quick change of clothes before heading over to Finn's.

When she walked inside she could hear the gleeful sounds of the girls out back on their jungle gym so she slipped her sandals off by the doorway and made her way out onto the deck barefooted. She snuck up behind Finn and wrapped her arms around his waist before she realised that he has company. There was a tiny, brunette man sitting across from Finn, and next to him was another man with darker hair. Their attention was on the girls, who seemed to be in the middle of some sort of swing competition, and Rachel fought back a laugh at the look of pure determination etched across Daisy's face as she mercilessly kicked her legs so she can be swinging higher than Delilah.

"Hey babe," Finn smiled, pulling Rachel around to face him for a quick kiss. "How was work?"

"It was—"

She was cut off by the tiny lighter haired brunette. "Oh my God! Finn Hudson you did not say that when you said you were dating a girl named Rachel that it was _the_ Rachel Berry!"

"I'm sorry?" Finn asked, addressing him. "Rach, this is my step-brother Kurt and his partner Blaine. Guys this is my girlfriend Rachel."

Rachel laughed softly and extended her hand to the two men. "It's so nice to meet you!" She beamed shaking Blaine's hand.

"Oh dear God I can't believe I'm meeting _Rachel Berry_!" Kurt squealed and Blaine placed a hand on his shoulder to get him to calm down.

"Kurt, relax, she's a person just like you and me. Now say hello."

"Right I'm sorry. I got so excited and ahead of myself. I knew if we wanted famous friends we should of stayed in San Diego! Blaine I told you!"

Blaine rolled his eyes and Rachel and Finn laughed a bit. "No you didn't. You said and I quote 'that if we don't move to LA we'll miss out on all the finer things in life…including celebrity friends.'"

Kurt waved his hand in the air to dismiss Blaine's response and turned his attention over to the dark haired diva. "So how long have you been dating my stepbrother for?"

"About a month. Around the same time your step-sister started seeing Noah," Rachel explained taking a seat in the chair next to Finn.

"Wait Quinn is seeing someone? He'd better be a good guy because after everything that happened last time…" Kurt trailed off his attention shifted off of Rachel.

"I can assure you that Noah Puckerman is one of the best guys." Rachel said softly placing her hand on Kurt's arm.

"Dude you really should call us more often, maybe then you wouldn't be so out of the loop." Finn added glaring at his step-brother.

"Wait, back up, Quinn, our Quinn, is dating Noah Puckerman? As in the former teen sensation?"

Blaine rolled his eyes at Kurt's excitement and Finn and Rachel stifled their laughter. "I don't understand how you two have all the luck. Blaine and I have been living in LA for three years now and do you think I've seen anyone at all? No, I haven't even seen the fame wannabes like Heidi Montag. This is just unacceptable."

"What are you two doing here anyway man?" Finn asked.

"I told you, we were at Dad's and Carol's this morning and she said something about bringing the girls back so we volunteered to bring them back so I could get some time in with my favourite step-brother."

"More like he heard Daisy and Delilah talking about Rachel and his nosey self wanted to meet her," Blaine explained grinning at Kurt who huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, it ended up being way better than I dreamed of it being anyway. Although, now we're going to have to go and pay a visit to Quinn in New York before she gets back."

"Why don't you join us for dinner? We were just going to go out anyway." Rachel asked. Kurt's face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning and she again found herself biting back a laugh.

"That sounds great," Blaine replied. "Plus I think you just made the guy's year." Blaine laughed nodding his head over to Kurt who seemed to be in a daze.

-x-

Dinner was honestly wonderful and Rachel had a blast. Kurt and Blaine were really too funny and the girls became just a bit more lively around their uncles. Rachel found herself falling in love with this family the longer time went on. She'd seen the pictures of Finn and Quinn growing up, and later on with Kurt as well. She'd seen the girls as babies, and with various members of the family anywhere and everywhere. They're extremely close and while she herself had always been close with her parents, she kind of envies what they have.

She'd grown up an only child and while her dads doted on her constantly she'd always felt the longing for a mother or a sibling. Thankfully she'd had Santana for almost all of her childhood and really the two were so close they were basically sisters.

When they got home Finn excused himself to get the girls settled for bed, and Blaine went into the office to make some calls to tell the office that he'd be away for a couple more days.

So she found herself alone with Kurt out on the patio as the sun set behind them. They were quiet, but it wasn't an awkward quiet, it was a comfortable one and she was honestly content to just sit there quietly for a while.

Kurt cleared his throat and she looked over at him. "You seem really nice Rachel," Kurt started.

Rachel smiled at him "Thank you-"

"I'm not trying to be rude but I have to say something okay? Finn's been through a lot. When Brittany died, he was in really rough shape for a while. We were all really worried about him, but he kind of retracted into himself and shut himself off from us. But as time went on, he started to get better. I really think the girls are what pulled him through. But none of us ever thought he'd find someone else that he looked at the same way he looked at Brittany."

Kurt paused to take a deep breath before continuing on. "He's been through so much, and he really, really likes you Rachel. He's been doing well, but at the same time its kind of like he's been going through the motions. But watching him around you today, I noticed how much...lighter he seems. He's happy again. And if you're not planning on sticking around, I think it'd be best for him if you left now. I've read your interviews, and you state time and time again how you're not ready to settle down. This is about as settled down as it gets. So if you're planning on just leaving here in two months like nothing ever happened, just remember, he's been through a lot."

"Kurt I don't know what gave you-"

"Its okay, you don't have to explain anything to me. You're a nice person Rachel, I like you, but he's my step-brother and I have to watch out for him. Like I said, you two seem like a good fit, and maybe he can be your exception to your rule."

-x-

Later that evening Rachel was watching TV with Finn when her cell phone went off. She excused herself into the kitchen and was expecting Santana calling to give her heck for not calling yet that day.

"So you met my step-brother huh?" Quinn asked on the other line when Rachel answered.

Rachel laughed lightly and hopped up to take a seat on the counter. "Yeah. Sorry we told him about you and Noah, apparently he's going to be coming to visit?"

"Yeah, I managed to talk him out of that by saying I'll be back in California soon enough and he could meet Puck when he came down to visit as long as he promised not to turn into a screaming fan girl."

Rachel laughed at the description and ran a hand through her chocolate brown locks. "So things are going well with you and Noah then?" Rachel asked a smile forming on her face.

Quinn let out a dreamy sigh before she answered. "Things are going amazing. Make sure you tell Santana thank you for having him come over and lay naked on your couch Rachel. I'm happier than I've been in years. How are things with you and my brother?"

"Amazing. He's so wonderful Quinn, your mother did a good job."

Quinn laughed, "I'll be sure to pass that message along. I've got to run though Rach, Puck is waiting and I just called to apologize for Kurt, he gets over excited sometimes."

"You don't need to apologize for him. Him and Blaine were wonderful, they're really great."

"They are," Quinn laughed. "Anyway, I'll talk to you later, I've gotta go, Puck's getting impatient. Take care of my brother and if you two are going to you know at my house, do it in the guest room okay?"

Rachel threw her head back and laughed. "Will do Quinn. Have a good night tonight!"

"Oh, we will. Bye!"

"Bye!"

Rachel leaned her head against the cabinet behind her and smiled as Finn came wandering into the kitchen.

"What's so funny?" Finn asked, nestling himself between her legs.

"Your sister. She says hi."

"Oh really? Did she say anything else?"

"Just to not have sex in her bed."

Finn wrinkled up his nose and shook his head. "She doesn't have to worry about that. That's just wrong."

Rachel laughed and leaned forward and kissed him softly. "Speaking of beds, how do you feel about heading up to yours?"

"That sounds good." Finn agreed, helping her off the counter. As they made their way upstairs Rachel realized how perfect everything was going. She ignored the part of her that was saying that maybe everything was a little bit _too_ perfect.

-x-


	9. Chapter 8 Quinn

November crept up onto the both of them faster than they had expected. Quinn welcomed the cold weather and snow almost like a kid on Christmas morning. She'd never seen snow before, and to her it just made everything a magical beautiful place. She talked Puck into taking her skating at the Rockafella Centre, and dragged him out for way too many walks in Central Park so she could just look around at it and smile. They were almost inseparable and she couldn't remember the last time she'd slept downstairs in Rachel's apartment.

There was still that little tiny part of her that was a bit insecure about everything, but overall she was ridiculously, insanely happy.

She let out a content sigh and settled her head against Puck's bare chest. It was late, and they'd just gotten home from a party one of his co-workers had, and it had felt so nice to change out of her dress and into her old gym shorts and a tank top for bed. Puck was playing with her hair absent-mindedly and she started tracing random patterns on his chest as she tangled their legs together underneath the blankets.

"Where's your head at?" Puck asked her, tucking her closer beside his body.

"Nowhere and everywhere," she responded, lifting her head and grinning at him. "Tell me a secret."

"What kind of secret?"

"I don't know. Something you've never told any of your other girlfriends."

Puck cleared his throat and gazed down at her. "So you know how I told you that it was just my mom little sister and me growing up?" Puck asked Quinn. She nodded her head and he continued on. "When I was eight and my little sister was just a baby, I came home one day from playing with my friend Sam and I went running into the living room to see my dad. I was just a kid and my dad was this total awesome badass who taught me to play guitar and he was my hero. Well I thought he was passed out on the couch so I tried to wake him up. My mom came in after about ten minutes of trying to wake him up. I didn't know I just thought he was really tired or something. Well she came in and she turned white as a ghost and sent me out of the room. He'd died of a drug overdose. I didn't know it was drugs until years later, but he was my hero and suddenly he was gone just like that. And I found him. I wrestled with that for a long time."

"Puck, that's terrible, I'm so sorry." Quinn said, leaning up to kiss him softly.

"It's okay, it was a long time ago ya know? Your turn, tell me a secret. Tell me about why you really came to New York."

Quinn tensed a bit in his arms and took a deep breath. "Two years ago Finn and I were out Christmas shopping for our mom and we ran into this guy he works with, over at the high school where he coaches. His name was Will, and he was quite a bit older than me but we hit it off. He got my number and he took me to dinner and from there we started seeing each other. I didn't know this at the time, but he was still with his wife when we first started dating. Eventually he left her and moved in with me and things were great. And then I started talking about kids and getting married and he made it very clear that neither would ever be happening, so I accepted that because I loved him and I figured I could be okay with just the two of us."

Quinn paused to take a few more breaths before continuing on. "Well one day it turned out I was pregnant anyway. And I knew he'd be upset about it but I thought that he'd eventually come around. I mean he already had kids with his first wife what's one more right? So he came home that night and I told him and he preceded to freak out. All I remember him saying is that he'd already been through sleepless nights and endless diaper changes and if he'd wanted that he'd still be with his wife. And then he went out the door and left. He came back the next day and got his stuff and left. He just walked out on me and our unborn child. He went back to his wife. I accepted that, I'm an independent woman, and I make enough money to support a child. A child that would have been loved and adored so much. So I got okay with the whole being a single parent thing and I started to get really excited. Then two weeks later, on the morning of my first doctor's appointment, I woke up to find myself in a pool of blood. I miscarried and that...well it broke my heart. I wanted that baby, I've wanted a family for so long and even if it's father didn't want it, I did. And to lose it like that just turned my entire world upside down and I honestly haven't been the same since."

"Oh Quinn-"

"It had been a year when I first turned up in New York. A year to the day since I lost it. Finn was starting to get worried about me so he suggested a change of scenery. And it worked. I think being here, with you, has made me realise that it wasn't meant to be and its time for me to let it go and be happy again."

She stopped and wiped the few tears that had fallen since she started telling the story. Puck was the first person that she'd told it to outside of her family, and even then she avoided the topic when she could. But she could just tell with Puck that it was different. She felt safe.

"You know that I'd never do that to you right?"

Quinn looked up at him and smiled. "I know," she whispered leaning up to kiss him.

-x-

The next morning they were still tangled together and Quinn moaned when Puck shifted to climb out of bed.

"Where are you going? It's early." Quinn mumbled, her voice laced with sleep.

"I gotta go into work for a few hours babe, they're signing a band I scouted so I have to be there. But go back to bed I'll be back soon."

"Its not the same. I might as well get up too." She replied, stretching as she stood.

"I wouldn't say no to saving water and showering together," Puck grinned, pulling her flush against him.

Quinn raised an eyebrow at him before stepping out of his embrace and heading towards the washroom, tossing her shirt over her shoulder as she went.

She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Are you coming or not?"

Puck laughed and walked over to her, scooping her up easily into his arms carrying her into the washroom. Quinn laughed as he set her onto the tiled bathroom floor. "I guess you are then."

-x-

An hour and a half later she was doing her hair as he rushed around his apartment trying to get ready for work.

"I'm so fucking late now," he laughed, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I knew we didn't have time for round two."

"You weren't complaining at the time." She grinned, leaning up to kiss him quickly. "Go to work, I'll be here when you get home. I have some editing I have to do anyway."

Puck grinned at her and bent to kiss her one more time quickly before he shuffled out into the cold November morning. She finished her morning routine and put some music on softly in the background before settling herself down on the couch with a cup of tea and the newest book she'd been working on.

The morning passed by in a quiet whirl and she was startled when she heard Puck's phone going off in the hallway. She uncurled herself from the couch to make sure he wasn't calling it from the office because he thought he'd lost it.

She was more than a little shocked to see Santana's name flashing across the screen. She backed away from the phone almost like it was cursed and sunk back down into his living room couch. She didn't understand why Santana was calling him. And there was this huge part of her that was suddenly very scared that he had still been seeing her the entire time that they'd been together. She sunk her head into her hands and it took everything in her not to burst into tears. There was another, tinier part of her that knew she was probably over-reacting, but it was so small she didn't notice it, and in that moment she felt like she's been transported back a year and she was waking up in that bed full of blood all over again.

-x-

He came home an hour later and she was still in the same position on the couch. He walked into the living room and noticed her huddled up on the couch and he immediately knelt down next to her and brushed some hair out of her face.

"Babe? Are you okay?" He asked when she got up and moved to the other side of the room, putting as much distance as she could in between them. "Quinn, what's wrong?"

She started shaking her head and pacing across the floor. She was sure she must have looked crazy and she didn't even really care. "You left your cell phone at home today."

"I know, I forgot it on the hall table in my mad-dash to make it in on time today." He had this confused look on his face and she knew she wasn't being very clear so she took another deep breath.

"Santana called you today."

Puck's face scrunched up in confusion. "Did you answer it? Did she say what she wanted."

Quinn laughs humourlessly and made her way into the hallway. "I need to go upstairs."

"Quinn!" Puck took two big steps and loosely grabbed her arms. "I don't understand what happened."

She spun around to face him. "I just don't understand why she would be calling you. Or has this been happing the entire time we've been together?"

"Has what been happing? Q, you've got to tell me what the fuck is going on here because I'm so lost right now it's fucking ridiculous."

"Don't play innocent with me. You were still fooling around with her when we met! We met because you thought that you'd be fooling around with her that night! How can you say that you'll never hurt me like he did, how can you say you want to settle down and have a family when your former fuck buddy is still calling you? I just, I need to go."

She was crying and she wiped furiously at the tears falling down her face. His grip on her loosened and she turned on her heel heading towards the door.

"Quinn!"

"Don't. I just...I need to go."

And with that she was out the door, closing it softly behind her.

-x-

She walked into Rachel's apartment and made her way into the bedroom, sinking down into the plush mattress and blankets. She wrapped a blanket around herself and just laid there as tears fell. She wasn't sure how long she laid there, repeating every awful thing that had happened since she had met Will over and over in her mind before she heard the front door open.

She thought it was Puck coming to check up on herm so she rolled over so her back was facing the door. She couldn't look at him right now, she just couldn't.

"You're an idiot." Someone told her from the doorway, and she whipped around in the bed because the feminine voice was definitely not Puck's.

She rolls her eyes when she realised its Santana. "What are you doing here?" She asked, rolling back over.

"Puck called me and told me to come over here and fix 'whatever the fuck' I did. And I'll say it again, you're an idiot."

"What are you talking about?"

"I haven't talked to Puck since the night he told me that he really liked you. And you were there. I was calling him today for business reasons, they need artists for the soundtrack for Rachel's movie and I was calling to see if there was anybody that was new and good that he knew of to get them out there. But of course the idiot forgot his phone this morning and you saw me calling instead."

Quinn turned around to face Santana again. She noticed Santana's face soften a bit before she moved to sit next to Quinn on the bed. "Listen, I don't know exactly what happened up there between you two, but if it helps, I've never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. And I've known Puckerman for a fucking long time and I've seen him with a tonne of women. But he looks at you like you're his world and that was just on the first night you two met. I may be a bitch, but I'm not a man-stealer, and I can promise you that I haven't touched him since like two weeks before you came to New York. So go back upstairs and talk to him. From what I've heard from Rachel this isn't worth loosing."

With that Santana rose from the bed and started to make her way back to the door. "Santana?" Quinn called out before the brunette could disappear down the all.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

-x-

He was sitting at the dining room table, staring off into space when she walkws back into Puck's apartment. She took a deep breath and shifted her weight from one foot to another before she cleared her throat to get his attention.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I just saw her name and I proceeded to freak myself out. I just… I think I was feeling a bit insecure about everything I told you last night and then Santana called and I just over-reacted."

"Quinn-"

"No, I need to finish this okay? These past three months so far have been amazing. You've been amazing. But it's my life was so non-amazing for such a long time I think I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and I never had a reason to with you. And i'm sorry."

"Quinn, I meant it last night when I said I would never hurt you like he did. He's an asshole. And yeah I can be sometimes too, but I would never do what he did to you. What he did, there's just no excuse and I don't understand how he could do it to someone as amazing as you are. You just gotta trust me okay? Yeah I used to sleep around before we started dating but I've never cheated on one of my girlfriends. That shit ain't kosher."

Quinn laughed a little bit and took a few steps towards him. "I'm so sorry." She whispered leaning her body into his.

"It's okay." He pulled her face up to meet his and it was a few minutes before they broke apart.

"We should probably talk about what's going to happen next month too." Quinn whispered after they broke apart.

Puck nodded his head, leading her over to his couch, wrapping his arms around her as they sat.

"What do you want to talk about that babe? I promise to come see you all the time."

"I know, I just, what would you say if I moved here?"

"I'd say that'd be fucking awesome, but are you sure you want that right now."

Quinn smiled and looked up at him. "I love it here, I really do. I love having actual seasons, and how this place is just always busy. But most of all I... I love you."

"Love you too." Quinn smiled and snuggled closer to his side. She knew most people would probably say they'd been moving too fast, but she'd never felt this way about anyone before, over those three months Puck had come to mean more to her than she'd ever thought possible.

After everything that had happened with Will, she swore she was done looking for someone. And she had stopped, but Puck had been right all those months ago, she'd stopped looking and he found her instead. "Do you have the classifieds from today still? I want to start looking at apartments while I'm actually still in the city."

Puck laughed softly before turning her face up to look her in the eye. "If you're going to move to the city you should just move in with me."

"What?" Quinn asked raising an eyebrow at him, although she couldn't help but notice the happy butterflies that sprung up in her stomach when he mentioned moving in.

"I'm serious. If you're going to move here you should just move in with me. You've been practically living here anyway, besides today when was the last time you were even in Rachel's apartment? I love you and I want to be with you. All the time."

Quinn smiled softly at him before she leaned up to kiss him. "Okay," she whispered against his lips.

She was finally starting to get her happy ending.


	10. Chapter 9 Rachel

I want to apologize for my lack of frequent updating. I don't really have an excuse other than I'm busy lol. I appreciate all of your reviews so much! Hope you enjoy this chatper, and remember, reviews are love!

Oh! I also have a tumblr, the link is on my lookup if you're interested. I mostly reblog things, but I'm trying to work on that and I love getting things in my ask box :D.

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><p>Rachel hummed softly to herself as she went about Finn's kitchen making dinner. She'd come home from shooting that day and decided that she was going to cook for Finn and the girls for once, and she was lost in her own world when Delilah walked in and climbed onto a stool right in front of the island.<p>

"What are you making Rachel?" The tiny four year old asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Stir-fry," Rachel replied, smiling at Delilah.

"Smells nummy."

"Thanks sweetie!" Rachel beamed, taking some snow peas over to the frying pan she has going on the stove.

It was quiet for a few minutes save for the vegetables sautéing in the pan and Delilah kicking her tiny feet against the stool.

"Hey Rachel?" Delilah asked again.

"Hmm?" Rachel replied absently while pouring some soy sauce into the pan.

"Are you going to be our new mommy and stay here even when Aunt Quinnie gets back? I think it'd be nice if you were our new mommy. And Aunt Quinnie is really nice and really pretty so you two could be friends."

Rachel turned around to face Delilah and kind of froze. She was honestly at a loss for words. It wasn't that Daisy and Delilah weren't sweet and adorable, it was that settling down was the last thing on her mind and she just realised that this...relationship she had with Finn was suddenly much more serious than she had realised it was.

She shook her head to get herself back into the present and looked at Delilah's innocent little face. "Sweetie, to be honest I'm not quite sure."

Delilah shrugged her shoulders before hopping off of the bar stool and running out of the kitchen. She cursed quietly when she remembered that dinner was on the stove and whipped around to finish what she was doing.

She was quiet all through dinner, and she knew that Finn knew that something was up with her, but he didn't say anything in front of the girls. Rachel was relieved to have them around, because it wasn't something she wanted to talk about, not until she'd figured things out more herself, that was why she found herself talking him into letting the girls watch a movie before bed. It would buy her more time to process her thoughts, thoughts she wasn't entirely sure he'd want to hear.

The girls fell asleep halfway through Finding Nemo and Finn scooped them both up gently, Daisy protesting sleepily as he made his way upstairs to tuck them in. A bout of nerves suddenly set in and Rachel flitted around the living room straightening cushions that didn't need to be straightened and folding the blankets that the girls had covered themselves with during the movie. She moved into the kitchen and cleaned the random stray dishes that popped up after dinner and was just wiping down the counter when Finn walked in behind her.

"What's wrong Rach?" Finn asked, causing the tiny brunette to jump.

"Oh my God, Finn you scared me!" She exclaimed, turning around to hang up a dish towel.

She could tell he had a half-grin on his face as he mumbled out a "sorry". She went to turn back into the living room but Finn gently grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Rach, wait. Somethings up, what's wrong?" He sake,d tucking a stray piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Nothing," she lied, plastering on the brilliant smile she used for the Tonies or when the paparazzi were following her and Santana around for Page Six.

"Rachel, I can tell when you're lying, and you're doing it right now. Just tell me what's wrong?"

Rachel sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Delilah asked me today if I was going to be her and Daisy's new mommy."

Finn tried to hide the smile that spread across his face as he rested his hands on her hips. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her that I didn't know."

"Oh."

An awkward silence settled over the two of them and Rachel shifts her weight from one foot to the other.

"Well, maybe down the line..." Rachel's mind trailed off as Finn talked and it honestly broke her heart a little bit to cut him off.

"Finn" He stopped mid-sentence and looked her in the eye.

"Yeah?"

"There can't be any down the line."

"What do you mean? Of course there can Rach-"

"I'm really sorry Finn, but there can't. I'm not ready for this, my life is on stage, not with a family."

"I didn't mean like right now Rachel, like down the line-"

"Finn, there can't be down the line. I'm not ready to settle down, and you've been settled down for a while now. You're amazing, but I'm not ready for this. You're life is here, and mine is in New York. I can't be a family person when I'm doing eight shows a week plus rehearsals and press events and everything that goes along with Broadway. I'm sorry."

Finn hung his head and ran a hand across the back of his neck, a gesture she had come to learn that meant he was really upset.

"Well, if you feel that way, maybe we should end it here. You leave in a month anyway."

"Finn, I'm so sorry."

"Whatever Rachel. Maybe you should go before one of the girls wake up."

Rachel nodded her head and turned to leave before walking over and placing a kiss on his cheek. She held her tears in until she was down the street and safely in Quinn's house. Her heart was broken, but this was how it had to be.

* * *

><p>"So I'm awesome, I got Puckerman and that Quinn girl back together!" Santana boasted into the phone as soon as Rachel picked up.<p>

"San-" Rachel cried, immediately cut off by her best friend.

"Rach? What's wrong? What happened? Who's ass do I have to kill?" Despite everything, Rachel felt herself smile at Santana's over-protectiveness.

"I broke it off with Finn."

"What the fuck for?"

Rachel sniffed a few times before answering her. "Delilah asked me if I was going to stay here and be her new mommy."

Santana is stunned for a few minutes, which rarely happens, letting out an occasional "oh".

"San, you being stunned isn't really helping."

"_Fuck_, I'm sorry Rach. I just - she asked you that?"

"Yes, and of course I freaked out and told him that that couldn't happen. I can't have a family and work eight shows a week, its just not possible. I'm not ready to settle down, you know that."

"What did he say when you told him that?"

"He told me if that was how I felt, then maybe I should go because there was only a month left and why delay the inevitable?"

"Fuck Rach, I'm so fucking sorry. I'll be on the next flight out there to kick his sorry ass."

"San, its really not necessary. I knew going into this that he had a family, its more my fault than anything."

"Fuck that shit Rach. Broadway has always been your dream, and if this guy asked you to give it all up for him, fuck no."

Rachel knows she's letting Santana jump to her own conclusions but she can't bring herself to correct her best friend. The facts hurt too much, and honestly if it had come down to her having to choose, she's scared of what it would be, because she's pretty sure that Finn Hudson is the one person she would of given everything up for.


	11. Chapter 10 Quinn

I want to apologize for my lack of frequent updating. I don't really have an excuse other than I'm busy lol. I appreciate all of your reviews so much!

Also, this is Quinn's last chapter focused solely on her. There's another Rachel and then an epilogue after so stay tuned!

Hope you enjoy this chatper, and remember, reviews are love!

Oh! I also have a tumblr, the link is on my lookup if you're interested. I mostly reblog things, but I'm trying to work on that and I love getting things in my ask box :D.

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><p>They were just cleaning up dinner when Puck's door banged open and Santana came storming inside.<p>

"What the fuck San, how the hell did you get in here?" Puck asked, annoyed as he set down the dish towel he'd been using to dry the dishes with while Quinn washed.

Santana waved her hand in his direction, dismissing him. "I had a key made ages ago when you weren't looking." She turned around and rounded on Quinn, doing the stance that usually intimidated everyone but Rachel into doing what she wanted. "What the fuck is wrong with your brother?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"What the hell San, step off of her!" Puck exclaimed edging closer to Quinn. Quinn placed her hand on his arm and shot him a look that said "I've got this", before she turned around to fully face the irate Latina.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Santana. When I talked to him two days ago everything was fine."

"The _hell _you don't know what's going on! He broke up with her because she didn't want to give up everything she worked for here and move to California to be with him! Like _fuck_ she's going to give up everything to go and play mommy to your two little nieces."

"The _fuck_? He seriously can't expect Rachel to do that! Babe, what the fuck is wrong with your brother?" Puck exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief. Santana and Puck started shouting back and forth at each other and Quinn just shook her head before getting both of their attention again.

"Will both of you two just_ shut up for a minute_!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "I haven't talked to my brother for two days! I have no idea what the hell is going on, and if you two insist on attacking him at the top of your lungs there is no way I'll be able to find out what's going on!"

"_Fuck_, you're right baby, we're jumping to conclusions, let's calm down and I'm sure everything will be alright."

"The hell it will be alright Puckerman, my best friend is broken hearted, thousands of miles away and I _demand_ to know what the hell is going on."

"San will you just sit the fuck down, shut the fuck up and _calm your shit_ so Quinn can find out what's going on for you?"

Santana rolled her eyes before she spun on her heel and stormed into the living room. Quinn shot Puck an exasperated look and he shrugged his shoulders before grabbing her hand to follow Santana. When they returned she was sprawled across the couch, arms crossed in frustration and a scowl etched onto her face.

"Are you ready to call now Blondie?" Quinn rolled her eyes and dug out her cell phone. "Put it on speaker, I want to hear this."

Quinn sighed as she dialled the familiar number and smiled when Daisy answered the phone. The two spoke for a few minutes until Quinn noticed that Santana was getting impatient on the couch, so she quickly asked Daisy to put her daddy on the phone.

"Hello?" Finn asked. Quinn could tell just by the sound of his voice that he was upset.

"Hey, can you talk right now?"

"Yeah I just set the girls up with The Little Mermaid so I've got roughly ninety minutes, what's up?"

"Seriously Finn, you're not even going to tell me that you and Rachel broke up, I had to hear it from Santana?"

Finn sighed. "I was going to call you tonight after the girls were in bed, I just needed time to process everything before you made me talk about it."

"Finn, why would you make her choose between New York and California. You've been with her for what, three months? You know how important Broadway is to her."

"What! Quinn I never said that. Delilah asked her if she was going to be her new mommy and she freaked out all by herself. I never once asked her to give everything up, I would never ask anyone to do that. And who's to say we can't move to New York, you're going to be there now anyway. I just told her maybe we should call it off now, I can't let the girls get any more attached before she leaves when there's no future there." Finn explained. Quinn shot Santana a look and the brunette was stunned on the couch.

"Finn, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Q. Listen I'd better go, I hear them fighting about which song is better again."

"Under the Sea hands down. I'll call you later. Love you and kiss the girls for me."

"Love you too and I will. Bye Q."

Quinn hung up the phone and raised an eyebrow at Santana.

"Fuck, I'm sorry." Santana apologised, shrugging her shoulders.

Puck rolled his eyes and tucked Quinn up against his side. "Its fine San, you want something to drink?" Puck asked before pressing a kiss to Quinn's temple.

"Nah, I'm gonna head out, call Rachel and try and talk some sense into her. She's so stubborn and dumb sometimes I swear. Besides you two look like you want to rip each other's clothes off and I have sworn off threesomes since this one time in the Dominican. Adios!"

Quinn raised an eyebrow at Puck because of Santana's departing words and he simply shrugged his shoulders as they heard the door close.

"She's going to take some getting used to."

"She's just bored because Rachel's been gone for so long. Now come on, I do believe you owe me for making me watch that stupid movie this afternoon."

"What are you talking about? I did not promise you anything for watching it with me."

"Yeah you did baby," Puck grinned leaning closer to her and whispering in her ear causing her to blush and laugh slightly.

"You're impossible!"

"Admit it babe, you wouldn't have me any other way."

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><p>"This is perfect," Quinn sighed, snuggling into Puck's chest as they watched snow fall across the city from the couch.<p>

"It is," Puck agreed, kissing her forehead. It was the night before she was set to leave and they were spending it calm and quiet, just the two of them, even though he was now set to fly out with her to meet her family and help her with everything that needed to be done before she moved to New York for good.

They sat quietly for a bit before Quinn felt Puck shift behind her. She turned her head to face him, wondering if there was anything wrong.

"Marry me," Puck blurts out causing Quinn to sit up so she could turn around and face him.

"_What_?"

He dug around in his pockets for a moment before pulling out a ring box and placing it in her hand. "Marry me," he repeated, looking her in the eyes.

She stared at the closed box in her hands and she was absolutely speechless when he took it from her and opened it up, revealing the stunning ring inside. It wasn't gaudy, not by any means, it was elegant, and honestly everything she'd ever let herself dream of in a ring. She stared at him for another couple of minutes before regaining her composure and looking him in the eyes.

"Married? Puck, that's crazy we've only been together four months."

"I know baby, trust me I know. But I love you...and fuck its hard for me to word things, but I've never felt this way about anyone before. And yeah maybe we are crazy for getting engaged so soon but you know what? My grandparents dated for a month before they got married and they were happily married for over forty years. This is right, you're it for me. So why would I want to wait for something that I know is going to happen in the future when it can happen now? Now I'll ask again, Quinn, will you marry me?"

Quinn felt tears gather in her eyes and she nodded her head before whispering "yes." Her face broke out into a huge smile as he slipped the stunning white gold princess cut ring on her finger and she threw her arms around him and he met her halfway for a kiss.

"My mother is going to kill me," she mused as they broke apart, still admiring the ring on her finger. "She hasn't even met you and we're engaged. She's going to kill me."

Puck laughed and brushed some hair out of her face. "If it helps, so is mine. You're a gentile." he grinned causing her to laugh and kiss him again. They break apart again and she looks at Puck, panic on her face.

"Is that really going to be an issue with your mom? Puck I don't want to start family issues-"

"If she really has an issue with it then fuck her. You're who I want to marry and have a family with. Christianity and all." She laughed.

"Good, because you're stuck with me now Mr. Puckerman, I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
